News

Erie gives thumbs-up to $1.1M skatepark

Trustees award contract to build Street League-certified facility

By John Aguilar For Hometown Weekly

Posted:
07/25/2012 12:45:02 PM MDT

Erie narrowly approved a $1.1 million contract Tuesday night, July 24, for the construction of a 16,870-square-foot skatepark, setting up what will likely be the country's first Street League-certified skateboarding facility.

The town awarded the contract by a 4-3 vote to Loveland-based ECI Site Construction Management, which said it could get the job done in four to five months.

The urban-themed Street League course, which is the brainchild of professional skateboarder and MTV personality Rob Dyrdek, features gnarly edges, rails and stairs. Erie's skatepark has the potential to become a professional competition site, which could attract events with a television audience of millions.

Discussion on the skatepark Tuesday primarily revolved around the cost of the project and the priority level Erie should put on building a recreation facility.

Trustee Mark Gruber said spending $1.1 million on a skate park when Erie is still trying to shore up its finances would be "frivolous and fiscally irresponsible." He said other demands on the town budget -- $3 million for street paving in the Air Park neighborhood and $2.1 million for sewer work in Sierra Vista -- are very real.

Gruber said Erie can't expect to see significant sales tax revenues for several more years, when commercial activity is expected to sprout in town.

"I'm asking this board to think conservatively about the town's financial sustainability," he said.

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Trustee Janice Moore also cited concerns about the health of the town's budget for her "no" vote on the project.

"I am not against the skatepark -- I am against doing it in a hurry," she said. "Fiduciary responsibility is very important to me."

Trustee Paul Ogg, who has been the main skate park proponent on the board, said Erie won't be raising taxes for the project but will be tapping the town's parks impact fund and conservation trust fund. The town will have to borrow about half a million dollars from the general fund to make up the difference, an amount Ogg said would be paid back in six months.

"There's no competition of 'If you build the skatepark, you're sticking it to the police station," he said.

Erie will be asking voters this November to approve a bond issue to pay for a new police headquarters.

Trustee Jonathan Hager said he backed the skatepark project because it will provide a positive recreational outlet for Erie's burgeoning youth population. And its Street League affiliation will be good for the town economically, he said.

Opinions among residents on the project ranged from enthusiastic support to vehement opposition.

Robin Walker said a survey the town conducted a few months ago gauging residents' appetite for a property tax increase to support the expansion of the Erie Community Park, in which the skatepark will be located, showed that a slight majority were against it.

"If you are not going to listen to the results of a $13,000 survey, why did you waste our money?" she said. "I'm all for a skatepark in the future, but now is not the time to deplete our resources."

Resident Jeff Wilkes said the economy is bad and the future uncertain, and spending $1.1 million on a non-essential recreation facility is an unwise use of taxpayer dollars.

But Michael Mcmahill, a 12-year resident of Erie who grew up skating in town, said the Street League features will attract skaters from far and wide. He said there is a large contingent of young people like him in Erie who are looking for a good place to practice their skills.

"This would put us on the map nationally as a great scene for skateboarding," he said.

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